Proportion of adults who have experienced a crime in the last 12 months: by ethnic group, 2002/03, England & Wales

In 2002/03, adults from a Mixed race or Asian background were more likely than those from other ethnic groups to be victims of crime in England and Wales. Almost half (46 per cent) of adults of Mixed race had been the victim of a crime in the previous 12 months. This compared with 30 per cent of Asians. Black adults and those from the ‘Chinese or other’ group experienced similar levels of crime to White people.

Young adults are more likely than older people to be victims of crime and minority ethnic groups have a younger age structure than the White ethnic group. After allowing for their younger age structure, Asian adults were no more likely than those from other groups to be victims of crime. In contrast, Mixed race people still had higher risks of crime after allowing for age and the type of area in which they lived.

When overall crime is split between personal crime and household crime, adults from Mixed race backgrounds still had the highest risk of both types of crime. Seventeen per cent of Mixed race people had been the victim of a personal crime (common assault, robbery, theft from the person and other personal theft) compared with between 7 and 9 per cent of people from other ethnic groups. A third (34 per cent) of Mixed race people had experienced household crime (which includes vehicle theft, vandalism and burglary) compared with between 18 to 23 per cent of people from other ethnic groups.

In 2002/03 one in ten Mixed race households (10 per cent) had experienced a burglary in the previous 12 months compared with less than 1 in 20 of other households (between 3 and 4 per cent).

People from Mixed race backgrounds were also at greater risk than other ethnic groups of violence. Eleven per cent reported being the victim of a violent crime in the previous 12 months, compared with no more than 5 per cent in any other ethnic group.

In 2002/03, the risk of being the victim of a racially motivated incident was higher for members of minority ethnic groups than for White people. Four per cent of Mixed race people, 3 per cent of Asians, 2 per cent of Black people, and 2 per cent of those from a 'Chinese or other' background had experienced a crime they thought was racially motivated in the previous 12 months. This compared with less than 1 per cent of White people.

People from minority ethnic groups were much more likely than White people to report that they were ‘very worried’ about crime. For instance, 43 per cent of Asian people were very worried about violent crime compared with 19 per cent of White people. Levels of worry about crime are higher in inner-city areas and for those who have experienced crime. Even after allowing for these factors, people from minority ethnic groups were still more likely than White people to be worried about crime._______________________________

Source: British Crime Survey, 2002/2003, Home Office

Notes:

All BCS crime includes: all personal crime and all household crime.

All personal crime includes: assault; robbery; theft from the person; and other personal theft.

Racially motivated crime: British Crime Survey respondents are asked, in respect of all crimes of which they were victims, whether they thought the incident was racially motivated. Victims are defined as anyone who judged that racial motivation was present in any household or personal crime which they had experienced in the relevant year, including threats.

Violent crime: levels of worry about violent crime were calculated using four types of violence: mugging/robbery, rape, physical attack by a stranger and racially motivated assault._______________________________